Kathryn Janeway and the Sylvan Singularity
by ghosteye99
Summary: AU. Set during the later Delta Quadrant years, Captain Janeway steps into an anomaly during an away mission, and wakes up in another universe as … something else. A Star Trek Voyager X Endless Forest game crossover.


**Title: **Kathryn Janeway and the Sylvan Singularity

**Author: Ghosteye99**

**Fandom: **Crossover – Star Trek Voyager (TV series) X The Endless Forest (Game)

**Characters: **Kathryn Janeway & a whole lot of deer (implied background J/C)

**Theme: **general/adventure.

**Rating: **PG 13+ (T)

**Summary:** AU. Set during the Delta Quadrant years, Captain Janeway steps into an anomaly during an away mission, and wakes up in another universe as … something else.

**Notes:** Set sometime between Counterpoint and Bride of Chaotica!, This will be a semi-serious chronicle of the life & adventures of the Endless Forest deer kathrynjaneway (that is her pictogram in the story avatar), starting from her fawnhood to … whenever. When I log her deer character into the game, I'll record her adventures and update them in this fic.

The story of how she got there in the first place, the flashbacks to what's happening meanwhile on Voyager, and how she gets back to her ship when I eventually retire her deer will be made up by me. Its something I decided to do mainly for my own personal benefit, as a counterpoint to Tabula Rasa, my other ongoing fic.

(btw for more info on the game, look up Tale of Tales).

**Warning:** Unbetaed (I wanted to get this up & away quickly). Due to the nature of the game, Janeway's also only partly humanoid in this one. So yeah, major furry-warning - leave alone if that sort of thing weirds you out.

**Disclaimer: **The character Kathryn Janeway belongs to Paramount Pictures and CBS, not me. The Endless Forest Setting belongs to Michael Samyn & Aurea Harvey. No profit or harm intended either way. This is a fanfiction, not Canon.

**Kathryn Janeway and the Sylvan Singularity**

**On an uninhabited M-Class planet, the Delta Quadrant, Stardate: 52308.6**

"_Sorry, Commander, we can't find any sign of her."_ Harry Kim replied from _Voyager's_ bridge.

"Then increase the phase sensitivity of the quantum scanners, level five!" Chakotay ordered, "We'll keep trying until we can find her and get her back. Chakotay Out!"

Chakotay turned to look at Tuvok, but – as always, the Vulcan's expression was unreadable. He turned back to the spot in the cave wall where, three hours ago, Kathryn Janeway disappeared.

…They'd been scanning for a seam of desperately needed dilithium to mine, and Tuvok's scanner had detected an anomaly that indicated the presence of a trapped mini-singularity.

Taking a brief detour to investigate, they'd traced it to a cave, and as they went deeper inside, Kathryn had put her hand against its sides to steady herself – and then, she'd just … vanished.

-o0o-

**Inside a quantum singularity resembling the surface of an M-Class planet, Location Unknown, Stardate Unknown**

The first thing Janeway noticed on waking up, from where she'd been lying on the ground, was the tall, feathery-topped grasses surrounding her. Above them rose an open woodland of great trees, with smooth mottled bark and pale green leaves.

Sounds like birdsong filled the air, along with the occasional calls of larger creatures. She rolled off her side, and looked down at her chest – which seemed flatter and furrier than it was before… but that was not the worst of it. Along with her clothes, her commbadge was also missing.

_Damn_, she thought, _I'd better get up and see if it's still around here anywhere._

As Janeway stood up, she also noted that the soil she'd been lying on was red, dusty … and that she didn't have proper arms or legs.

In fact, when she tried to stand at all, she found she had to prop herself up on all four of her limbs instead of two – and, after a quick look around for any signs of danger, she quickly checked them out.

Slender, covered in pale brown fur, and ending in neat black cloven hooves, they were designed for running, not manipulation. One thing she knew was for sure, she wouldn't be holding a phaser or playing tennis for a while…

After looking over the rest of herself, she looked around for her commbadge … and found nothing. It must have been dropped back in the cave, maybe even when she'd passed through that wall.

Without her badge, it looked like it could be a while before she could get back in touch with _Voyager_. She might even be stuck in this form for some time … but Janeway summoned her will, and counted her blessings – not the least of which was that she had still kept her memories and consciousness. Unlike that _last_ time, when Paris had abducted her while out of his mind, and they'd turned into those mindless, grunting amphibian-things…

_Ok,_ she thought to herself, _time to take your own advice … weird is part of the Starfleet experience, so get used to it. I'll get my bearings, find out what I can about this place … and see if I can find a way out of here and get back to my ship. But first, I'll see how good I am at walking on these legs_.

Risking a simple turn, to her surprise she found that her legs co coordinated themselves naturally, as if she'd been quadrupedal all her life, and she didn't even stumble once.

_Good so far_ … she thought, and then spotted a patch of red and purple flowers off in the distance, where the ground was shadier and the trees looked different and grew more densely together.

The shade looked inviting, it was starting to get unpleasantly hot on that red, dusty hill she was standing on … and the flowers aroused her scientific interest. Gathering her courage, Janeway pushed her legs into a run … down the hill and toward the shady part of the forest.

-o0o-

**On the planet**

"Commander," Tuvok said. "It is time that we returned to the ship. It is getting dark, and the ship's scanners have detected an intense electrical sandstorm approaching. It will not be wise to take shelter in this cave, and we may not be able to beam back up during the storm."

"I'm not about to leave." Chakotay snapped, and went back to working over the cave wall with his tricorder.

"There will be ample time in the morning to resume the search for the captain," Tuvok insisted. "Commander, it will not be good for the ship or its crew if you continue to place yourself in danger."

"_Bridge to Commander_," Kim's voice came over Chakotay's commbadge.

"What is it, Ensign?" he replied.

"_The storm is approximately ten minutes away, and picking up speed_."

"Acknowledged, Ensign Kim…." Chakotay glanced at Tuvok, who just nodded.

"…Ensign, get a lock on us" Chakotay said. "Two to beam up."

-o0o-

**Inside the singularity**

Janeway had always had an athletic bent, but still, her new physical speed greatly impressed her. It seemed like only seconds from the time she'd started running from the top of the hill, to reaching the flowers in the woods.

Having no hands to examine them with, she had to be satisfied with just using her eyes, her hooves and … with care … her nose. The red ones on the tall stalks reminded her of Earth's poppies, and after a thorough examination, she turned her attention to the low-growing purple ones below them.

As she bent her head down to study those, Janeway soon felt an odd, electric sensation shoot through her body, ending in a physical shiver, and a high trill of sound in her mind.

She jumped up, startled with the shock of the sensation, and looked nervously around … again, no sign of danger. She walked up to a rough-barked tree, and looked around again. Only birdsong … and that distant calling.

It was then that she felt something fluttering around her head in the faint breeze. A flicker of purple teased the periphery of her vision, the same purple that she'd seen in the flowers she'd been looking at.

_Did any of them get stuck to my head?_ She wondered, but she couldn't tell for sure until she could find some water or a mirror to look into.

Janeway'd been on enough away missions to know never to ignore any phenomena, however harmless seeming. Noticing the strange calling had become quieter for a while, she decided to risk doing some calling of her own, in case any of her crew could somehow hear her from outside the singularity.

'_This is Captain Janeway. Can anybody hear me?'_ Her mind formed the words … but what came out of her mouth instead was: "Mwaaaaooooooooooourrh!"

She shut her mouth, startled into silence … then tried again:

'_This is Captain Janeway, of USS Voyager. Is there anybody around … can anybody hear me?'_

"Mwaaaaooooooooooourrh!"

It was the same calling that she'd heard in the distance. Whatever those creatures were, she realized, she'd just become one of them.

-o0o-

**On board the**_** USS Voyager**_

As the sandstorm tore over the planet, Chakotay paced in his quarters.

"I still can't understand what happened," he said, his voice rising. "She just touched that wall of rock … and she was gone. Like that!" – he snapped his fingers with an angry gesture.

"Commander, you have become excessively agitated, and it is advisable that you get some rest – see the Doctor for a tranquilizer hypospray, if you require one."

"And what if I choose _not_ to?" Chakotay snapped, rounding on Tuvok – who calmly stood his ground.

"Then, I could order the Doctor to temporarily relieve you of your duties, based on your current mental state." He replied. "And do not also forget that I am a Vulcan, with considerable combat training and experience. My strength and reflexes are superior to yours, and I know a number of holds that can disable you temporarily in an instant, should you make it necessary for me to use them."

"Point taken, Lieutenant." Chakotay replied. He sat heavily down on a chair, and hung his head. "What do I do?" he muttered, to no one in particular.

"Console yourself with the thought that the captain is most likely in less danger than you currently believe that she is in," Tuvok said. "It will help you to clear your mind, so that you will be in a better state to resume the search tomorrow."

-o0o-

**Inside the singularity**

Running deeper into the forest, Janeway still found no sign of water, only more flower patches and more trees – some festooned with huge, down-slanting plate-like fungi that she wasn't in the mood to study right now. Ahead of her, she spotted a set of ruins looming through the trees, and somewhere among them she'd also seen a flash of pale, golden light.

Adjusting her course, she made for them instead. Experience taught her that ruins, even apparently abandoned ones, were often promising sources of help and information.

Rogues and other dangerous types often used them as shelters, but so did honest travelers. If she was lucky, and careful in assessing who she met, maybe there she could find out more about this world, and what she'd become.

And from that, maybe even work out a way back to _Voyager_.

In spite of the coolness of the dense forest, running for so far without a drink had made Janeway start to grow tired and thirsty very quickly, and as she reached the ruins, she had to slow down to a walk to rest her muscles and catch her breath. Ahead of her, through the tangle of grey stone and trailing creepers, she could still make out that glow – stronger now – and she'd decided to check that out first, before looking for water.

-o0o-

**On board the**_** USS Voyager**_

Harry Kim pressed on Tom Paris's door chime. "Come in," Tom replied – and Harry walked in to see him and B'Elanna, still in uniform – looking glum, with a half-finished holo-game on the table in front of them.

"May I join in?" he asked.

"Feel free to finish it, Harry" Tom replied.

"Not sure if I'm up to it myself," Harry said. "Can't seem to get today out of my head, I figured you'd both be thinking the same."

"Well, you guessed right," B'Elanna said.

"And the Commander's been getting really worked up," Harry continued. "I don't think I've seen him as bad as this before."

"Can you really blame him?" Tom replied.

-o0o-

**Inside the singularity**

Janeway found the source of the light – it shone in bright, shifting rays above the head of a non-humanoid creature, similar in its deer-like build, but much taller and bulkier than she. Its pelt was different from her own spotted, fawn-like hide as well.

This one's was a rich russet, with rough-edged black markings along the back and shoulders. It had stag-like antlers – huge ones – long, mobile-looking ears, and over its humanoid face was what looked like a black, bird-like mask.

The creature was sleeping, and as it's ribs rose and fell, she could see the light above its head expand and contract like a slow-beating heart.

…and in that light, for the first time, in its centre she noticed a symbol – drawn in the same bright golden light as the rays surrounding it – rectangular, like a single letter of an alien script. She wondered, idly, what meaning the pictogram had, if any, and whether it served as a social status marker … or even a kind of name.

Cautiously, Janeway walked up to the sleeper, and pressed her face to its. She waited awhile … but nothing happened. Pressing harder, she felt the front of her body suddenly merge into the stone of the block the creature rested on, and she quickly turned around to step back out of it, just in case.

_So things are not quite as solid in this world as I'm accustomed to,_ she thought, warily. _Other laws of physics might apply here. I'd better be careful._

She remembered the weird sensation she'd gotten from the flowers, and again hoped to hell _that_ wasn't going to eventually turn out to be something sinister.

The light from the sky reddened, and she realised it was starting to get dark. She was getting even more tired than before, and she was very thirsty now – she needed to find some water soon, but she lay down on the ground by the stone block, to take a quick rest first...

…and it happened again. The same electric feeling, the same trilling noise in her head. Janeway jumped up, and looked up at the creature above her. It slept on, unperturbed. She walked closer to it … and the feeling of what happened next was barely describable.

It was if a blaze of warm energy had suddenly built up in her chest, and radiated out from her body in a great, flowering ring of light. Floating in and out through that ring was the same symbol she'd seen in the sleeper's light – multiplied into myriad forms – dancing through the circle with another symbol. The second one was different, made up of curves and points instead.

A second name? She wondered, and pressed her body closer to the sleeper's. The ring of light faded out to nothing - for a moment – before the same well of energy blossomed out of her again, spreading outward and fading just like the previous circle, and with the same two symbols dancing through it all like a swarm of glowing insects.

Pressing her face closer to the sleeper's ear, Janeway felt _something_ above her head suddenly grow warmer – and she saw that when it did, the sleeper's own light also blazed brighter.

_That second symbol … could that be mine?_ She thought, stunned. _Is that sleeper what I might be … or what I might grow into. Maybe that's how they reproduce. People stumble into their world, and become one of them …_

Janeway slumped back down on the cool ground next to the stone block. The shock of the realization must have affected whatever energies had been flowing between she and the sleeper … for the circles of light had suddenly stopped pulsing out from her. Everything now seemed cool and quiet.

Taking a moment to let her mind clear, in the reddening dusk light, she noticed again the fluttering purple petals at the edge of her vision … as well as - for the first time - that she'd been nervously flicking her ears. By now, she was too tired to care much about _that_ minor detail.

In spite of her thirst, she decided to wait awhile, to see if the sleeper would wake up. She'd decided now that this was her best chance of finding out a way – if she could somehow communicate with it - to learn about this world. And the more she knew about where she was, the better her chances of getting back to the ship …

… But she was going to be in for a long wait. The creature kept on sleeping, and it wasn't long before Janeway, exhausted, was sleeping too.

-o0o-


End file.
